


Once in a Lifetime Find

by agoodtuckering



Series: Doctor Who Stories [34]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Minor Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswin Oswald, Past Child Abuse, Past Violence, Post Season/Series 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22472944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodtuckering/pseuds/agoodtuckering
Summary: The Doctor has taken in a young girl. Who is she? What species is she? She needs him, but he needs her just as badly.
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor & Original Character(s)
Series: Doctor Who Stories [34]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1045997
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Once in a Lifetime Find

**Author's Note:**

> This story was a commission from a very close friend of mine who is also on AO3, @InsideTheTardis. Go show her profile some love. Her writing is incredible. I adore her to pieces. This story originated from a past Twitter RP story between the two of us. Elyne is a character of her own making. Enjoy.

It happened by accident, really. He hadn’t meant to find her.  _ But he had.  _ And here he was, grumpy and over two-thousand years old, taking care of a little girl. He’d found her on Earth. She had escaped from scientists. 

Life had a funny way of working, though, didn’t it? So, of course he took her in.

Her home, now, was the TARDIS. 

He’d discovered something  _ rather interesting  _ about her as well, after he’d first brought her aboard the TARDIS. He’d taken her to the med bay for a full-body scan. Just a  _ check-up,  _ as he’d called it. She was part Igneos. It was the reason for her amber-colored eyes, her rather short height, and her fascinating personality. She aged much slower than Humans as well. Half Human, half Igneos. 

She’d been through a great deal of trauma, though. She had scars along her back, was rather skittish, and slow to trust. It took days before she even chose to speak to him. 

Despite his usual demeanor, he was gentle with her. Tender, even, almost. Eventually, she told him her name.  _ Elyne.  _

He promised that she was safe, that he would be a guardian to her, would take care of her, and never ever let the scientists find her. No more experiments, no more pain,  _ no more.  _ He would protect her. 

The Doctor was lonely. He’d spent his Time searching for a woman he couldn’t even remember.  _ Clara.  _ All he knew was her name. That was all. She was gone, gone without a trace, and he was lonely. Perhaps Elyne had stumbled into his arms at just the right Time. As far as he was concerned, maybe they had saved each other in equal parts. 

She needed him, and perhaps he needed her just as much.

Time passed and she began to relax, choosing instead to focus on the good and wonderful, the new memories, and her new home. The TARDIS, in turn, instantly took a liking to the young girl. She protected her, cared for her. She wanted to keep her  _ safe.  _

She was fascinated by and interested in  _ everything.  _ She and the Doctor were similar in so many ways. She questioned everything. She listened intently. She learned all that she could.

There were times, too, where Elyne would sneeze. Sometimes, when this happened, a puff of flames or smoke would come from her nose. It was the Igneos in her. She’d accidentally set a few of the Doctor’s tops and jackets on fire that way. More than a few blankets fell victim as well. But it was alright. The Doctor was determined to help her harness the ability as she grew older. He wanted her to embrace her heritage, the species she had come from.  _ One day,  _ he often said,  _ she would know exactly how to conjure flames.  _

Slowly, he began to relax as well. Someone living aboard the TARDIS with him was odd. More than that, however, she was only but a  _ child.  _ Traveling around the Universe and going on adventures was  _ very different  _ with someone so young in both mind and body. 

It gave him a fresh perspective on life. 

When he read in the Library, she would find her way over to him and crawl up into the chair beside him, asking him to read to her. They would drink hot cocoa together in the evenings. They would talk for hours. He would bring her to planets where nature was beautiful and fascinating. Life was exciting again. 

Elyne began to recover from her trauma. She calmed, relaxed, and began to  _ trust  _ and  _ love  _ again. He was the father she had never had. She couldn’t remember her life before the doctors and scientists had taken her. He’d asked often enough when she’d first come aboard his ship, although he hadn’t wanted her to relive any terrible memories. He was curious. Was anyone looking for her? Was she lost? 

One evening, while he was lying in bed with a book, there came a gentle knock at his bedroom door. Immediately, he understood. Elyne had had a nightmare, more than likely. “Come in,” he called to her. 

She came trodding in, sleepy eyes and wrinkled pajamas, and climbed up onto the bed to lie beside him. 

A bit awkward at first, he reached out a hand and shifted a bit, silently asking her over. She needed no further motivation. She curled into his side and asked, “What are you reading? What are all those circles and squiggles on the page?” 

He laughed softly, unable to help himself. “Gallifreyan,” he responded matter-of-factly. “It’s my native language. It’s far different from what you’re used to, I’m sure.” 

Her eyebrows rose curiously at that. “Is that the language your people speak?” 

The Doctor nodded gently, a hand brushing her hair from her eyes. “Yes,” he said softly. “It is.” 

She sat up a bit, chin resting on his chest now. Hesitating for only a moment, she asked, “Can we go visit it? Your home, I mean. I wanna see where you’re from, Doctor.”

He tried to quell the pit of sadness that settled into his stomach and nearly made its way into his expression. Still though, his eyes were filled with sorrow. “We can’t,” he replied, almost automatically. “It’s lost. My home is lost to me.” 

She looked sad as well, amber eyes searching his face. “It’s lost? Can’t you find it? We should be looking for it, then. To help it get un-lost.” 

She was something, wasn’t she? He hated to respond to  _ that,  _ but he said, “I’ve tried. I’ve searched and searched. But that’s alright. They’re safe. That’s what matters to me.” 

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, she laid her head back down and settled in. “I had a nightmare,” came her next words. 

“Did you?” 

His voice was soft, unsure. He wasn’t good at this, not by any means. But he was  _ trying,  _ for this young girl’s sake. He liked to think that Clara, whoever she was, would have been proud at the effort. She would have applauded him, he thought. 

“I did,” she mumbled. “But you’re here now. I’m safe.”

He tried to ignore the sudden lump in his throat. Those words made him ache. She  _ was  _ safe now, with him, and he wished he could take away all the hurt she’d suffered before he had found her. 

But alas, she was safe. For now, that was all that mattered. Much like Gallifrey being safe, too. Nothing else mattered. The past was the past. The future was theirs. 


End file.
